An alcoholic who was freed on a suspended sentence so he could tackle his drink problem was arrested less that 24 hours later after going on a whisky bender.

George Holmes was found staggering around a shopping street, walking into cars, and stopping the traffic at 11 am on the morning after his release.

He told the police officers who arrested him:"F*** off. You are a waste of f***ing money, you pricks."

He blamed his drunken state on well wishers who had included a bottle of whisky with supplies of warm clothing which they had handed out to street sleepers in Exeter.

Holmes was freed from Exeter Prison on the afternoon of Thursday October 12 after he received an eight month suspended sentence for an earlier drunken brawl at a supposedly alcohol free rehabilitation centre at Ovis Farm, at Bratton Clovelly, North Devon.

In that case Judge Erik Salomonsen told him:"I am releasing you in the hope you will change your ways. If you don't, you know what will happen. If you start drinking again and behaving in the same way, only one thing will happen. You will serve this eight months."

Holmes was supposed to travel to Plymouth where he had promised a judge he would find a job and somewhere to live.

He never got out of Exeter and started drinking after joining up with a group of homeless people who were sleeping under the awning of the Odeon cinema in Sidwell Street.

Holmes, aged 53, whose last address was at Paradise Place, Plymouth, admitted breach of a criminal behaviour order and being drunk and disorderly and was jailed for a total of ten months by Judge Geoffrey Mercer, QC, at Exeter Crown Court.

He told him:"When you received the suspended sentence you were told it would be activated if you committed any other offence.

"Within 24 hours, there you are in Exeter, drunk and behaving in a drunk and obnoxious way, swearing at the police and causing considerable concern to the public, who had the misfortune to witness it.

"It would make a mockery of the system if the suspended sentence was not activated."

Miss Anita Noerr, prosecuting, said police were called to Sidwell Street when a group of drunken homeless people were seen staggering around and climbing over parked cars.

She said:"A police unit observed Holmes struggling to walk and walking into the middle of the road where a driver had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting him.

"He was arrested after he staggered across a road and approached a shop owner. He told the officer 'F*** off. You are a waste of f***ing money, you pricks'."

Miss Sally Daulton, defending, said Holmes had remained out of trouble after his release from a previous sentence and been assessed by probation officers of being motivated to address his alcoholism.

She said:"He left here on October 12 with £7 in his pocket and wandered around Exeter until 11 pm trying to find a homeless hostel. He ended up linking up with other homeless people sleeping at the Odeon.

"He spent the night there with them and people had brought things for them such as clothing. There was also a bottle of whisky and the inevitable happened.

"If you leave this man with no support and a bottle of whisky in front of him, it is obvious what is going to happen."